City Owl Press

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Submission Requirements

Finished manuscripts only.

• For novels, manuscripts should have the word count of 50,000 and up. 
• For novellas, manuscripts should have the word count of 20,000-50,000.

Please only submit manuscripts that have been through at least two rounds of edits. These do not have to be professional edits (that's our job!), but they should be self-edited, beta read, or partner critiqued.

If the submission is unsolicited, you must send a query and the first ten pages. Manuscripts should be pasted into the body of the email. Do not worry about formatting. All work should be author’s original.

Plagiarism of any type will not be accepted.

III. FAQs

1. My novel does not fall neatly into one category. May I still submit?
Yes, we are open to novels that may be a mix of categories or sub-genres, as long as they fall in some way into the categories above. An example would be Romantic Suspense with Paranormal elements.

2. How do you define New Adult?
Any novel that falls into the New Adult category should have protagonists in the 18 to mid-20s age range and should deal with the protagonists finding themselves and/or love.

3. I had previously published a novel but have since had rights revert back to me or retained rights. May I submit it to you for consideration?
Yes, if you have retained your rights, or full rights have reverted back to you, you may submit to us.

4. I do not have an agent. May I still submit?
Absolutely. We welcome submissions directly from authors. Likewise, we also accept agent submissions.

5. I’m not based in U.S. May I submit my manuscript?
We welcome authors from other countries, but please make sure that the manuscript is edited for U.S. English (unless the British English or Australian slang is appropriate to the story).

6. What is meant by "net"?
“Net” is classified for us as: net income or net sales proceeds--the money received for the book (list price less any discounts or commissions charged by retailers, wholesalers, and/or distributors). It is a common practice for small presses, and more information can be seen on Writers Beware site here.

IV. Contract Terms

We offer competitive terms with you in mind! Our authors are important to us and we want your success. We believe in partnering with our authors and being up front with all endeavors.

Royalties: 40% on net for digital editions, which goes up to 50% after 10,000 books sold. 25% on net for print editions, which goes up to 35% after 10,000 books sold. Distributed on a quarterly basis.

Length: Four years from the date of publication with six month extensions after initial term if agreed upon by all parties.

V. Querying

• Please allow at least 4-6 weeks for a response to a query and 8-12 weeks for response to a full manuscript. If you don't hear back from us after these times, please don't hesitate to follow up with us.


• The query should mention if the novel is a stand-alone or part of a planned series. We are very interested in acquiring series and growing an author’s career over several books.


• Don’t forget to tell us how your story is different and why readers should pick it up. Add comp titles if they are relevant and truly comparable to your story.

Look at the Editors' bios in The Team section to find their manuscript wishlists. 

(Please note that Tina Moss is not currently open to submissions.)

Click the link to send your submission the editor of your choice. 

 

Please do NOT send the same submission to more than one editor. Multiple submissions of the same query/manuscript will receive a rejection.